At My Own Cost -- ShikamaruOC
by journey-scribe
Summary: Kitsune is a teammate Shikamaru has known since their genin days. Now, even after they have advanced to jounin, the two haven't realized just how much they value their companionship. But when danger drives them apart, the truth will finally be released.
1. Chapter 1

_Shikamaru glanced at the clock. Its face wasn't friendly, then again it wasn't unfriendly; it was just the only one he could see. 5:25, it read. Their team was to meet in the specified classroom to meet their new member: Kitsune, who was to replace Ino after she'd been transferred. Shikamaru hadn't slept well that night, he could come up with no reason to keep trying, and, thus, he figured he might as well head on over to the school, hence his being there 45 minutes early. And only ten minutes had passed since._

_ 'What does a man do in life,' he was contemplating, 'when he's sitting around waiting for someone else's move?' Philosophical as it might have sounded aloud, the thought had been simply focused on wading through the darkness of boredom in a room with nothing even slightly amusing to study, physically or mentally. _

_ But finally – about twelve minutes further into the wait – Shikamaru overheard a girl's voice some distance down the hall. "Well, I must have lost it," she said casually._

_ "Then I can't let you in," a familiar male voice stated, completely emotionless on the subject._

_ "Oh, come on, it's no big deal, I'm Asuma-sensei's new student, I-"_

_ "Then you were given a pass. Hand it over to me and I'll let you in."_

_ "Oh, please, sir – Asuma-sensei will recognize me-"_

_ "He's not here yet. You'll have to wait."_

_ Heaving a sigh, Shikamaru decided to possibly intervene, if he thought it was his place after observing for a while. Several moments later, the unmotivated ninja had climbed out from the desk he'd been settled in, making his way – at his own relaxed pace – to the door. _

_ Peering out a minute and twenty-six seconds later, his drowsy eyes searched the entrance at the end of the hallway. The girl Shikamaru presumed to be the one speaking – previously attempting to charm her way in - was now pacing several feet from Hayate. He was the jonin making certain preparations for the day and had also become the unofficial morning security. _

_ The girl was small, slender, her narrow face framed gently with wavy auburn locks of hair. The eyes, active and lively as an ocean wave, stood out especially - dark lashes outlining the cerulean irises. Breathing in and out - clearly finding it difficult to relax - the girl finally backed against a tree several feet from the school, seeming to have surrendered to whatever struggle she'd faced. "I guess that's Kitsune," Shikamaru muttered to himself. _

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"Shikamaru," the extended call of his name aroused him from dozing off in his idled state. Kitsune was a few feet from his face, just then lifting a bandaged hand to presumably test his visual reaction. But she lowered it again, satisfied when his eyes focused on her.

"What, did you daydream again? Right through the Hokage's lecture too," his former teammate shook her head at the jounin as though to scold.

With a groan of annoyance, Shikamaru rubbed at his droopy eyes, stretching the skin back and forth as though to refresh the surrounding circulation. "Dozed more like it. Daydream would be when I had something worth dreaming of – like not being here anymore. Don't worry, I got the gist of her speech. The Akatsuki are nearer to town than ever before, probably only a few inches with the paranoia so common in our village these days, but our mission is to track down any who get too close, right?"

Kitsune shrugged, hardly impressed. "Okay, maybe you did cover the basics - you're smarter than I thought." Her teasing smirk was responded to with no real change in Shikamaru's sluggish expression.

Eventually the jounin looked past his partner to take in how the present atmosphere differed with that before he'd fallen asleep. The room was practically cleared of the ninja; a few pairs of jounin still sat around the levels of tables – which differed in height similarly to a set of stairs - with their own private discussions, but no figures of authority seemed to have remained. After all, what reason would they have to stick around, busy as adults tended to be? "Lady Tsunade certainly knows how to clear a room fast - one of the reasons I like having her as the Hokage." With that comment, his head laid against the wall behind him.

Scoffing slightly, Kitsune sat in the desk to his right. "Alright then Shikamaru, if you think you can be such a snob about it, tell me what new schedule was posted for our scouting missions?" She crossed her arms defiantly in an attempt to 'cease his flow of personal bragging points' – as she had once referred to it.

Shikamaru yawned, his gaze unwavering from the ceiling. "We leave today at two; tomorrow's an hour early according to security regulations. Every evening this week is at six." His pride usually didn't get the best of him, but he couldn't help glancing at his partner for a reaction. Though he'd potentially cheated and found that out even before the meeting, he thought she might as well be impressed, unaware of that truth. After all, she hadn't specified where the information had to come from.

The confident smirk exhibited by Kitsune's expectations dissolved, but she knew better than to display too much surprise. However, before she took an opportunity for her comeback, Choji had stepped into the doorway, tossing a couple of crunchy, brown ovals into his mouth even as he spoke - much to Kitsune's disgust, though both of his partners had grown more used to it throughout years of experience.

"Hey, what're you guys doing? Kitty, you said you were gonna grab Shikamaru - I've been waiting for like twenty minutes," Choji expressed casually, though with subtle exclamation toward the self-reliant claim.

"Impressive, Choji - especially considering Lady Tsunade's meeting hasn't even been _over_ for that long," Kitsune offered a grin as she made the comment, to which Shikamaru snorted lazily - a sign that he found the circumstance amusing.

Smacking his lips, Choji apparently decided to resort to no comment, following up with a nonchalant change in subject. "So anyway, I persuaded Asuma-sensei to buy us some lunch today - since we don't know if we'll ever see each other again, the Akatsuki being extremely dangerous and all. We've gotta meet him in about five minutes at the tea shop." His tone was softened and he spoke quickly. Shikamaru assumed it to be the result of guilt getting to his companion - that he hardly believed it to be the last meal for any of them.

"Nah, sorry, Choji," finally, Shikamaru pressed his hands against the table before him, bracing to push himself up to his feet. "I've got some preparation to do for the final chunin exams - might as well get it done before we have to go on lookout…man, when the village is all rushed about an improbable occurrence…being a jounin can be such a drag…"

"Tragic story, Shikamaru - too bad you don't have time to tell us another one," Kitsune called after the ninja as he slinked his way to the hall.

Shikamaru cracked his neck back and forth as he walked. However, he chose only to give a surrendering wave in response to his companion's remark.


	2. Chapter 2

Finally. All questions answered. All students armed with knowledge. And all were leaving to prepare on their own now. The jounin's work was done. And it was then he felt at ease to yawn and close the classroom door behind him. Ah, the satisfying click of a closed school door - the click he wouldn't have to hear, thanks to his semi-rapid progress, for a long time. As painful as the overload of a jounin's responsibilities might be, Shikamaru had to admit - at least to himself - that this life of a more accomplished ninja proved more satisfactory than that of a genin or even a chunin, at least in the long run.

The nearly silent hallway only exhibited a few random students discussing amongst themselves; all female, as he might've expected. But who cared? He was now beyond the age of obnoxious female peers…for the most part, and he didn't mind seeing the teens around so much. Another yawn as he started the journey down the hall concluded the job until…

"Shikamaru? Shikamaru!"

"Ah, what now…?" the jounin half-muttered, his discontented frown evident once again as the teenage girl jogged her way into view, prancing like a princess addressing her chamberlain.

"You, uh…" the tan brunette traced her fingers through her hair; a gesture of uneasiness in a boy's presence - as Shikamaru had come to understand it. "You didn't tell us much about the first test, I was wondering if…"

"If I'd give away information on account of you being persuasive enough with the facial expressions or the empty flattery? Sorry, kid." Shikamaru made the statement with absolute nonchalance. He held no grudges, her tactic might've been an effective one if she hadn't specifically made him the victim. He'd seen many before her, within his own generation as well. The technique was too familiar to miss. But the effort, nonetheless, he thought commendable.

The girl looked shocked. _Naturally_, Shikamaru immediately thought. "No! No, I didn't mean to imply that at all! Shikamaru, I just…I just need to know if…if Miss Anko will be running it again?"

"And how did you hear about _her_?" the jounin's brow elevated with faint surprise.

Now the kid was nervous. "F-from a friend…a friend who's already a chunin…" her face was innocent, but the voice carried a clear wisdom in how pure she made the story she told.

"Look, I only tell the rules and that 100% participation is expected of each contestant," even the way he said it might be found in an instruction manual - he really was bored with the entire concept. "If you want more than that, go to your chunin friend." He pressed his lips together as an objective punctuation, his relaxed eyes apathetically meeting with hers.

But she dared not remain in his sights much longer. "I'm just…I'm just a little nervous, that's all," worry edged the soft laugh, with which she'd intended to brush off whatever tension that remained.

Shikamaru nodded slightly, but otherwise paid the statement little acknowledgment. His silent wish was granted when the girl jogged away even quicker than she'd first arrived.

"Your charm never ceases to amaze me," Kitsune stepped up from behind, only speaking up with her sarcasm after the girl and her friends had nearly disappeared behind the outer doors.

Shikamaru's head rested against his the back of his shoulders as though its weight had become an overwhelming burden. "Stabbed in the back while your 'accomplice' distracts me. What is it with you girls, never saying what you actually want us to hear?"

"Oh-ho, because you're so easy to be honest with," she retaliated with irony, crossing her arms in defiance. Her amused smile only added a tint of cleverness to the argumentative disposition. "If we were honest with men, where would the world be?"

"We might have a clue what you women want from us and the world would be a cheerier place," Shikamaru slinked his way along the hall, resuming his leisurely journey.

"Ha!" Kitsune strode to catch up, her arms waving in a gentled marching pattern as the determination to prove her point set in. "_Men_ have to see in black and white so they don't get confused. It's a woman who juggles everything that a man deals with as well as her own emotions."

Shikamaru smirked. The comeback he'd immediately thought up was a personal one; maybe even dangerous if he cared what his partner thought of him. Was it worth it? "And yet…with this impressive juggling this woman accomplishes, one never again finds her misplaced genin pass."

Kitsune's eyes narrowed with obvious disdain for the comment. But, in her mind, she was smiling at the memory he'd recalled. Though it had been an embarrassing part of her life, one purpose for her delight - though she'd never admit it - may have been the fact that he simply remembered the time of their meeting.

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'_Oh, what do I do now?' Kitsune heaved a sigh, finally settling - posture slumped and features red with distress - within the shade of a nearby oak. The ninja school she'd been pressed to join in the first place was beginning to look more and more treacherous. Humility would bring her to a state beyond miserable when her teacher found her and the punishing disregard bestowed by her father for her clumsy mistake would be out of the question for her to endure! Yet there was no solution - Asuma-sensei would surely inform her family of the incident and she would, of course, be blamed!_

_ "__I've heard the ground is a fascinating study with the proper tools," a young male voice shattered the hopeless thoughts holding Kitsune's anxious heart captive. "But I've never seen the point in buying a microscope for the ground when the sky is a tax-free phenomenon."_

_By the time the boy had finished his statement and approached her position, Kitsune was able to take in the basics of his appearance. He had a short and thin build underneath his loose ashen white jacket and common net-like shirt. His dull mahogany hair was pulled into a tight ponytail behind his head and the expression upon his narrow face seemed a perfect example of apathy in its most honest sense. _

_ "__Tax-free, huh?" the wrinkles of stress only faded enough for politeness in her expression. "What do you see in it?" Her bright blue eyes lifted to regard the blanket of fluffy cream clouds, lined with shimmering edges of gold from the sun's bold awakening. _

_With a shrug, the boy seated himself in the grass nearby. Kitsune couldn't help feeling he'd never known stress even in the scarcest dose that she'd become accustomed to. "That doesn't really seem important. Everyone sees something different every time they look. What do _you_ see?"_

_Kitsune's eyebrows met between her eyes, displaying her confusion at first. Crossing her arms before her front, she sighed and shook her head. "I don't get it; I see clouds and a blue sky. What are you aiming at?"_

_The boy had to turn his eyes to look up at her - he was now lying back on the ground, his own arms bent behind him to cradle his head. "The sky can be the perfect listener - see, it carries its own color, but it rarely dominates your mind like people try to do. If you vent to the sky, it'll take on the face of your troubles, but it won't have a voice." With a shrug, he turned his gaze back up to the subject of the discussion. "So it'll hear everything you say, but it won't talk back." _

_Kitsune gazed upon her peer for a long, thoughtful moment - wondering what it would be like to have such a life as his. To be careless and so relaxed all the time…if she could ever handle not caring for anything, it might be a dream come true. But she blinked the fragments of the dream away within a moment. "You say that like all your troubles will be gone if you're just willing to talk it out with a mindless object."_

_He shook his head simply, the matter-of-fact tone still unaltered. "I never said they'd go away. It doesn't always happen like that. But one constant truth about your problems is it's all in your head. You were born with the capability to handle your stress, your nerves, your emotions, and even your physical problems…just by winning the battle in your mind."_


	3. Chapter 3

"So are we a go then?" the masked ninja turned his head between the volunteer jounin before him. Towa, by name, had only now finished his explanation of the mission and had to confirm whether every participant was reliable.

None raised their voices to answer. But this was a good sign among shinobi - it meant none refused to do the task set before them, dangerous as it may have seemed. "Alright, well you've been assigned your partners already and the sections you are to look over. I cannot tell you what you will find; you may even cross paths with a dangerous enemy. Take care, each of you, for yourselves and your partner. Bring both of you home safely, got it?" Towa patted the back of a particularly stiffened participant to his left, jerking him back to reality. "If you do come across trouble, remember the importance of this information to the Hokage. It is not only your lives at stake, fellow jounin, you hear me?"

Various nods and mutters of agreement satisfied the Anbu ninja. With his own final nod, Towa glanced long and hard at each of the faces once more. "For the Hidden Leaf Village." Several repeated the statement before they'd all stood and darted away in opposite directions to begin their journeys.

Branch after branch, Shikamaru's gaze remained cold as stone, focused toward his destination. He didn't stop and was hardly expected to at the time, knowing his partner followed close behind. Fortunately - though as he'd predicted - Kitsune even caught up to him, jumping by his side.

"Sheesh, for someone who couldn't care less what particular robes some locals thought they saw in the area, you're in an awful hurry!" she gasped a chuckle, thinking it wise to suppress a laugh any longer at the speed they were moving.

Shikamaru's mouth twitched to the side, forming a slightly annoyed smirk. "You really think I'm an open book, Kitsune. I imagine you'd be pretty beat if I proved you wrong."

"Think you could?" A curious smile curved her lips as she asked.

He shrugged carelessly. "Assume what you want. There's no point in challenging it."

"Alright, I will…I _assume_ your words are never empty. Actually, they're pretty heavy and difficult to hear when your brutal honesty comes into play. You sure scared that girl at the school…"

Shikamaru shrugged, unaffected by the memory. A moment later he landed, crouched upon a heavy branch to search the section. "Every action comes with a consequence. Teenage girls especially should learn that early as they can."

"Oh, really?" Kitsune retaliated with a laughing scoff. "Well, I have something to say about that-"

"Shh," Shikamaru lifted a hand in her direction, his eyes focused forward intently. Huffing, his quite irritated companion reluctantly turned her eyes to look. Seconds passed…then a couple of minutes…Kitsune started to speak up, to tell him there was nothing to see. But then it chilled her skin – a feeling she both feared and despised. They were being watched – watched by someone they couldn't see.

Kitsune didn't know if this had been what Shikamaru noticed, but she couldn't find anything else he might've addressed. Slowly and quietly, she crouched to withdraw a weapon from the pack wrapped about her leg.

"We're not far from Konoha…" her partner finally said, "Maybe I'm just imagining it."

"Uh-huh, I suppose you wouldn't admit that you just wanted a break," Kitsune sighed, her shoulder relaxing even through her exasperation.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in a subtle wince – she couldn't tell why at first. "But I could've sworn I saw something…some kind of movement up ahead."

"Maybe it was a squirrel. Either way, if it was _moving_, it'd probably be long gone by now." But Kitsune silently agreed with Shikamaru – she had known there was something out there, no matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling now. "Let's just keep moving." As she leaned down to sheathe her kunai once again, a sudden disturbance of leaves sounded through the quiet woods. Shikamaru shouted as he quickly darted in her direction.

"Watch it!" he cried out just before tackling his companion, knocking her on her back. The two were sprawled on the branch, Shikamaru on top of her, drawing several shuriken from his belt before she even knew what was going on! But one more sound just after paid her all the explanation she needed. The tree vibrated and shook violently in reaction to several thunderous cracks only several yards behind them!

Her partner's muscles stiffened as he clung tighter to the branch beneath them, coming closer to her as a human shield. However, the splintering snap that soon followed changed his plans. The branch, breaking off the tree and dropping from underneath them, left the two to accompany it on the fall or depart immediately.

Shikamaru jumped to his feet and kicked off the branch into the air, Kitsune right behind him. "Remind me to thank you for that," she gasped, finally getting the chance, as she climbed to her feet from their clumsy landing upon the shelter of another tree.

"Don't mention it," Shikamaru muttered, peering out from their hiding place. "Pretty sure they're Akatsuki. If we try to fight 'em, we're dead."

"Oh, well, that's faith, Shikamaru – thanks for the good news," Kitsune scoffed, harmlessly pushing at her partner's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, they've got nothing to lose, we do - one of us has to alert the Hokage-I'm just stating the facts," Shikamaru glanced back at her with faint agitation, though his eyes were tense and preoccupied. "If one of us serves as a distraction, the other will have a chance to slip past the enemy and reach the village."

"Oh, come on – don't you have a plan that _doesn't_ involve a human sacrifice?" Kitsune groaned, brushing her fingers roughly through her loose, auburn hair.

Shikamaru smirked faintly within his quieted panting. "Not much for that, huh?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Look, why can't we just both run for it and distract them on the way? We could stop and delay them, run, stop and delay them, just use a hit-and-run tactic!" the jounin whispered, gesturing toward different surroundings as though to illustrate her point.

But her partner immediately shook his head. "Wouldn't work. Akatsuki would catch on too quickly and we'd lead them right to the others."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to try! They're close enough to Konoha already, aren't they?—"

"There'd be too much at risk – we'd practically be giving them the advantage of a surprise attack." Shikamaru stood, straightening his posture in preparation. "Promise me you'll run fast. We only get one shot at this." Another explosion in the distance. Their tree rumbled, but remained undamaged for the time being.

"What?" Kitsune's eyes widened, horror striking her face in realization. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"Come out, come out, little Konoha ninja!" a man's soft, but sickeningly malicious voice called from the distance.

Shikamaru blinked away the determination, replacing it with a natural apathy as he answered her. "Fine…"

His partner immediately looked confused. Hadn't that been too easy?

"Then fail the Hokage and everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village who's counting on you. I'm sure that'd go over well with your father." There was a hint of anger sharpening the words as he spoke them…something bothered him – something about her father maybe?

Kitsune opened her mouth – she tried to reply, but she just didn't understand her partner well enough to argue. Wasn't he a coward? Wouldn't he just love to avoid any kind of difficult conflict or danger? How much had she assumed about his character just by what she saw on the outside?

"This is our duty, Kit, whether we like it or not." Shikamaru's hands tensed over the shuriken still held against his palm. Again he glanced at her, watching the worry soften her features.

"Uh-but-!" Kitsune stepped forward, ready to continue protesting. But she was interrupted when the splinters of the branch struck by yet another bomb were blasted through the air and straight at the two jounin. Kitsune felt herself thrown against the branch beneath her feet, wooden shreds tearing through her clothes and skin. She wanted to cry out at the searing pain burning everywhere at once, but she knew better. More attacks would come and it was no time to surrender to them. She covered her face with her arms and waited. After the blast had weakened until it completely dissipated, one leg then another bent inward to raise her body back to her feet. But her right leg couldn't support her. As she braced against it, the limb couldn't bear her weight and collapsed from under her. Dropping to her knees, both hands clung tightly to the only sturdy part of her position – the branch beneath her.

"So here's where you were hiding," that same cruel voice stated. It was still distant; outside of the enormous cloud of smoke, but the terror it brought felt as though he could watch her with ease amidst the clearing dust.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" Kitsune muttered softly through the quiet chuckling of her enemy. Her worried eyes paced her surroundings over and over – there was no sign of him. The world seemed to be moving faster and faster – she couldn't find anything familiar, especially her comrade – she was beginning to panic. It felt as though she couldn't keep up with passing events. "Shika-"

Suddenly, her arm was gripped - tightly. Kitsune couldn't refrain from shrieking in that instant. The hand had come from nowhere! "Shh-it's me!" Shikamaru whispered from behind her.

Immediately checking her companion over, even as he decided to look about their surroundings instead, Kitsune found no serious damage - just several cuts and bruises, and plenty of dirt smudged and clinging leaves all over his body.

Uttering a sigh of relief, she began to say something when he - once again - interrupted her attempt. "Are you hurt?" he asked quickly, as though either a 'yes' or 'no' would open up the opportunity to take action.

"No-just my leg," Kitsune decided to answer, paying a cautious glance toward the injury in question.

"Can you walk?" Her silence alone answered him. Slipping an arm under her legs, before she could react, Shikamaru lifted her body in his arms and jumped down from the tilted remains of the tree. Impressively, his companion only uttered a soft squeak of surprise, soon clinging to his neck nervously, especially as he left the tree. Safer on the ground and near the wall of a cave, they finally continued their discussion.

"Shikamaru, you're in better shape than me - here, I'll stay back as a distraction, you go get help." Kitsune urged as her partner set her down in the grass.

Her partner immediately shook his head, his distant eyes scanning the area. "Not happening, Kit. If neither of us can outrun them to the village, we've got to try to shake 'em off."

"And how do we do that?" Kitsune asked with a soft whimper, massaging her leg.

"Well, _you_ do that by waiting in that cave," he answered matter-of-factly, nodding toward the inside of their hiding place.

"Oh, you are not leaving me behind just so you can be some-…some martyr!"

"If you don't wait here, the blood of every Konoha citizen will be on your hands," Shikamaru stated, showing more agitation than Kitsune had seen recently. And upon withdrawing a set of paper bombs from his pack, he made one last comment. "Besides…what would _you_ know about being a distraction?" She caught a glimpse of a gentled smirk on her partner's face just before he jogged away - nearly instantly disappearing into the sea of trees.

"Hey-!" Kitsune's eyes flickered with anger, wishing she could shout after him, or - better yet - slug him for putting her through this. But the thoughts vanished when she overheard the heavy movement of air, like a giant creature flapping its wings up in the sky. Frozen as a statue, she watched the dark, bird-like silhouette pass nearly over her head. Was that one of the Akatsuki…or at least one of the Akatsuki's pet? Shivering with worry, Kitsune finally decided to obey Shikamaru's request, sliding her body along the ground and into the shadows of the cave.


	4. Chapter 4

_Three more…_Shikamaru had luckily evaded the enemy long enough to set these traps, but the bad news was he'd hardly seen the ninja at all, the excepting being a few hints that he was nearby – disturbances and subtle footprints among the branches as well as faint sounds of movement not too far away. Silently extending yet another string along the trees, Shikamaru scanned the area with his eyes in the meantime. _Just two more._

But the abruptness of the following sound threw him off guard. Another explosion - similar to those when he was with Kitsune - struck the ground far off to his right. There must've been his enemy. Shikamaru tensed considerably - he wasn't finished yet, but it seemed luck wasn't on his side at this point. Scanning the area in that direction from where he stood, he hardly expected the next explosion. It was closer, but it was to his left this time. Maybe he _didn't_ know where the enemy was. Quickly laying the trap's string down and wrapping it about a twig settled on the ground, the jounin waited.

"Wild rabbit chase, hm?" Much closer than the explosion behind him stepped out Deidara, a young male ninja with long golden hair swept over his left eye. His only seen apparel was a robe symbolizing the Akatsuki which nearly covered all but his head, feet, and hands. "I have grown tired of your game, kid. I suppose you've been delaying to save your partner…Hm, did she abandon you?"

Exhaling, an only nearly-prepared Shikamaru proceeded with his plan. "My companion's long gone by now. It's a drag, but it seems I was left to delay you."

"Delay me?" Deidara seemed to be keeping his cool, but his right eyebrow lifted quizzically.

"Yeah, till Anbu Black Ops get here," Shikamaru stated casually.

"So you think you're capable enough to take care of me on your own, hm?" he seemed amused now.

"Won't be for long," at that, Shikamaru darted in his enemy's direction.

With a chuckle, Deidara leapt up into the sky, kneeling upon the branch of a tree - to which Shikamaru hurled several kunai knives in his direction. Maneuvering about them easily, Deidara snagged the last kunai from the air and, dropping something in it within the same smooth motion - Shikamaru observed - threw it back down at his opponent.

"Shoot!" Shikamaru had to assume the worst, beginning to dive for cover, but it was too late.

~.~.~.~

The orange and crimson explosion was a delight to Deidara, the flashes dancing in his sky blue eyes. And when the smoke cleared - it didn't take long as Deidara had only sent a small portion of his clay - all that was left was the kunai he'd thrown and…a log! "A shadow clone…maybe I shouldn't have underestimated the kid…hm."

Now it was his turn to hear an explosion. - behind him! Eyebrows furrowing, the Akatsuki whirled around, but found nothing unusual. A paper bomb had gone off - it had certainly not been one of his _clay_ bombs. Then three objects came soaring through the smoke! Deidara barely somersaulted beneath them, landing on his feet again with his back to the dissolving smoke. Another blast struck the moment he'd regained his footing - this time in front of him.

_What kind of trick is this_? Deidara's narrowed eyes scanned the scene thoughtfully. Wind racing to his left made him whirl around just in time to watch the kunai strike the ground at his feet. Just a moment after, air shifted behind him and he barely ducked underneath the line of shuriken, ramming the bark of a tree just before his eyes.

~.~.~.~

"Looks like I didn't have to delay very long," Shikamaru called from his hiding place, cupping a hand to the side of his mouth to enhance his voice's power.

A few moments passed of Deidara looking about his surroundings cautiously, Shikamaru began planning his next move, his wrapped fingers perspiring against each other and the string's they gripped. Just then Deidara looked straight at him - even in the shadows. Now Shikamaru felt had to set off another paper bomb – the one practically under Deidara's feet. He lifted his fingers to quickly perform the jutsu. But what he hadn't expected was the attack that came from behind.

A sharp, excruciating ache pierced his flesh just before the jutsu was accomplished. At first it chilled his skin, stiffened his muscles. Then, as the pain began to spread, he felt the violent burning - the desperation to do anything to get rid of the searing pain. Moments of this lasted, getting harder and harder to endure it. Shikamaru felt his body finally collapse, landing on his knees and practically twisting his legs in the awkward angle. But one missed the branch he'd been standing on. His leg slipped off the edge and he began to drop rapidly, straight toward the ground. The air rushed against his frozen limbs for about half a second, it seemed. Then something solid, cold and lifeless, gripped his body - wrapping all about his torso right in the middle of the fall.

"Your timing never ceases to amaze me, Sasori my man," Deidara stated with a chuckle, upside down from Shikamaru's point of view and striding in his direction nonetheless.

Shikamaru felt blood rushing to his head, lying backwards in mid-air, held only by the crushing claw of some unseen enemy, and his ribs felt as though they would crumble within the grasp of his metal bonds. Panting for breath, though it frosted his lungs as though he were breathing within an ice cavern, Shikamaru spent his last moments wondering if this was death. He didn't mind so much, staring it in the face – after all, everyone had to meet it at some time. But then the thought hit him…a concern worthy of much more time than he had. What if this 'Sasori' had discovered Kitsune as well? Would she be joining him in…wherever a man went after death? Had he failed to save _her_?

The emotion was unexpected, when he had this painful throbbing in his stomach – though it wasn't caused by the poison. He couldn't bear the thought of Kitsune dying - dying because he'd failed her. The horrifying surroundings of his cruelly delighted enemies, the ruins of their struggle, the blackened and shattered trees were the last sight he beheld, but all he could hope for was that his partner was safe – surely his hopeless luck would grant him _that_ much._ Just don't let her get caught – don't let me have failed her._ With that final thought, Shikamaru's eyes closed in surrender.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Kitsune? Oh, Kitsune," the familiar husky voice of Kitsune's teacher relaxed nearly all tension within her body. As two strong arms soon embraced her, Kitsune felt the desire to sob in Asuma's shoulder.

"H-How did you find me?"

"Hey, I'd recognize Shikamaru's work anywhere – he left some clues leading me right to you," Asuma exhaled, finally releasing her, the relief in his eyes reassuring her worries for the moment. "Where is that rascal anyway?" Asuma chuckled, glancing about the dark cave.

It was then her smile faded. "Wh-don't you know?"

Asuma's eyebrows furrowed gradually. "No, I thought he was with you or…do you know where he is?" The tension suddenly returned, harsher and angrier than before.

"H-he…told me to stay behind…to let you know about the Akatsuki…" tears were brimming on her eyelids as the memories rushed back into a realization of what Shikamaru had really been planning. He'd sacrificed himself, delayed the enemy and fallen to him, to ensure that she wasn't found…and now he was gone. Just as when they were young genin…he had protected her…and at his own cost.

"Asuma. We found this in the clearing." Towa stepped before the mouth of the cave, holding in his hands a torn jounin's vest smudged with dried blood and dirt - Shikamaru's vest. "I think they took him."


End file.
